Beyond being inherently mushy, this year’s Valentine’s Day was downright slushy. We almost canceled the Looking for Love Scavenger Hunt event we had planned for Saturday. But, happily, some folks felt it’s never too slushy to go looking for love on bicycles! And, sure enough, as soon as we stepped foot outside of the shop, everything wet stopped falling from the sky. Truth be told, though, there was plenty of splish-splash on the ground and we were going to be at the mercy of our fenders, and, in my case, woefully inadequate footwear. Too bad I didn’t have any garbage-bag toe warmers this time. Regardless, we were excited to set off on a quest for love...

With three teams, competition for the $50 prize to Busboys and Poets was not going to be particularly fierce, so we decided to pool our intellectual resources and ride as one big team. That way, we'd collect as many points as possible, split the prize, and all have a couple of beers after a fun day riding.

Since I penned the riddles of love, I was along more as a spectator, and I enjoyed watching everyone come up with creative answers to the provided scavenger hunt clues. Case in point: one of the answers was the pentagon, but no one felt like crossing the river, and since we were already in the Natural History Museum, it was decided, to the amusement of the rest of the visitors, to hold hands and form a pentagon of bodies in the entrance of the museum.

The Natural History Museum turned out to be a jackpot for clever answers to my hints: we found and attempted to steal the Hope Diamond (get a priceless rock for your sweetheart), failed to touch some orchids (don’t pick the flowers!), and made tongues at a giraffe (second largest mammal heart).

We were having a great time in the museum, and we didn’t much want to go back outside, but the siren song of love beckoned us to the AMOR sculpture at the National Gallery of Art, and the Kennedy Center (only president to win the Purple Heart), with a stop at Virginia Avenue (an avenue, “for lovers”).

After two hours, it was with warmed hearts and frozen toes that we decided to return back to the shop, and what was waiting for us? Mini, crumble-top cherry pies (sized for two) from our pal Sol of Acme Pie Company and hot coffee from Vigilante Coffee! It was, dare I say it, the sweetest end to a lovely, if rather cold, ride. Well, that, and our trip to Busboys and Poets to cash in the grand prize!

If you want to see more from our adventure, check out all the photo submissions the participants collected here.